The Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking to acquire their first win of the season this Sunday when they head to NRG Stadium to take on their division rivals in the Houston Texans. Similar to last week’s battle against the Kansas City Chiefs, it won’t be an easy matchup for the Jags as the Houston Texans’ defense has some elite players. Still, if the Jags are to win their offense is going to have to contribute to some capacity.
Here are three players to watch on the offensive end as John DeFilippo’s unit tries to continue their success from Week 1:
QB Gardner Minshew
Win or lose, much of the talk from this game will revolve around Jacksonville’s quarterback Gardner Minshew and how he performed. The Jaguars are hoping Minshew can keep their playoff aspirations alive. Minshew doesn’t have to play at an elite level, but if the young quarterback can avoid turnovers and be an accurate passer, the team will have its shot to be a playoff contender. How he performs against the Texans will be pivotal in deciding Jacksonville’s future this season.
Minshew played great in his NFL debut this past Sunday, but can the Wazzu alum continue where he left off Week 1?
WR Dede Westbrook
Entering the season, fans expected Dede Westbrook to be the Jaguars’ best receiver. While Westbrook did haul in a touchdown in the season opener, it was DJ Chark who stole the show for Jacksonville. If Minshew and Westbrook can grow an early connection, that will bode very well for the offense. Minshew lacks elite arm strength, but getting the ball to Westbrook early and often can hope to mitigate that problem with Westbrook’s ability to get yards after the catch.
Houston just released former Jaguar Aaron Colvin and could be less experienced at the nickel corner position. With Westbrook getting a good portion of his snaps in the slot, this will be a good opportunity for Minshew and Westbrook to take advantage of Colvin’s replacement, whoever that may be for the Texans.
OL Will Richardson
While the offensive line had some problems as a whole and Nick Foles went down to an injury early in the first half of Week 1’s game, Will Richardson played his part quite well, especially when considering the short notice of being the team’s new left tackle with an injury to Cam Robinson. Richardson may see a move back to right guard, however, it was encouraging to see how well the young lineman performed.
Jacksonville drafted Richardson with the hope to groom him into a starting tackle. While he will likely see most of his time at the guard position, his flexibility will be crucial to his usage for the team. It’s always an asset to have position flexibility on the offensive line, and on Sunday, Richardson showed that. Let’s hope this is a sign for Richardson and he becomes a key cog for this unit going forward. This team can’t afford any more injuries to the quarterback position.
